Packaging support



March 14, 1961 D. R. LANE 2,974,844

PACKAGING SUPPORT Filed Feb. 15, 1960 Fl 6. I 4

FIG. 2

FIG. 5

DA N R. LANE INVENTOR.

United States. Patent PACKAGING SUPPORT Filed Feb. 15, 1960, Ser. No.8,830

Claims. (Cl. 229-14) This invention relates to packaging and moreparticularly, to a pad adapted for unitary flat fabrication and readilyfoldable to form a receptacle for an article in a cushioned spaced-apartrelation with respect to the walls of a container.

In packaging articles of rectangular polyhedron configuration forshipment under such conditions as are likely to involve rough handling,it is frequently desirable because of the nature of the article toinsulate it and cushion it to prevent damage. Generally, protection maybe provided by spacing the article from the walls of a container withlayers of material which preferably is inexpensive yet adequate toprovide rigidity and to withstand impact. Simply accomplished,rectangular sheets of padding material, suitably dimensioned to fit intoa container, may be provided for all six sides of the container;however, for packages other than cubical in form, a plurality of sheetsof different sizes are required and the handling thereof in actualmaking up a package becomes tedious and time-consuming.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a unitary pad, apair of which may be readily applied to opposite faces of an articlehaving the shape of a rectangular polyhedron to provide a spacedrelationship between the article and any bearing surface and at the sametime, provide padding on all six sides of the article.

More particularly, in accordance with the present invention, there isprovided a shipping pad formed from a rectangular corrugated fiber boardsheet with flaps extending the full length of at least two edges thereofand hingedly depending from such edges. Pad elements of thicknesssubstantially greater than the thickness of said sheet are secured to atleast the two of said flaps which are hinged to adjacent sides of saidsheet. One of said pad elements is of length equal the length of thefirst of said flaps and is aligned with the free edge of the first ofsaid flaps, but overlaps the juncture between the sheet and the firstflap a distance of the order of the combined thickness of the padelement and the sheet. The other of the pad elements is aligned with thefree edge of the second flap and extends beyond each end thereof andbeyond the juncture between the sheet and the second flap =by distancesof the order of the combined thickness of the pad and the sheet. By thismeans, the two flaps may be folded to right angle relation with respectto the sheet to form a corner protector for a packaged article.

In accordance with a more specific aspect of the invention, there isprovided a shipping pad including a rectangular sheet having a bearingface and flaps depending therefrom on the sides thereof which flapsextend the full length of each of such sides. Pad units are provided onthe face of said flaps opposite the bearing face of said sheet. On twoof said flaps, the pad units coincide in length with the flaps but arewider than the flaps to overlie the boundaries between the flaps andsaid sheet. The pad units secured to third and fourth flaps are ofgreater length than the flaps by twice the thickness of the pad unitsand have at least a portion thereof which 2 overlies the boundariesbetween the third and fourth flaps and said sheet. By this means theflaps may be folded inwardly toward the bearing face of said sheet toform an oepn receptacle into which an article may be placed with saidpaid units provding bearing surfaces on the fours sides of said articlewith the edges of said pad units extending beyond the plane of saidsheet to space said sheet from the sides ofa container.

For a further understanding of the present invention and for a morecomplete description thereof, reference may now be had to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view of a pad from the bearing face thereof;

Fig. 2 is a view of the back of the pad;

Fig. 3 is a view of the pad taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; p 7

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the pad taken along the lines 4-4 of Fig.1;

Fig. 5 is a view of the pad corresponding with Fig. 1, but with theflaps folded inwardly to form a receptacle;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 66; and

Fig. 7 is an isometric view showing a pair of pads applied to an articlefor packaging.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a packing pad which isfabricated in fiat form and includes a rectangular sheet 10 ofcorrugated fiber board. Sheet10 is dimensioned in exact correspondencewith one face of an article to be packaged. In one embodiment, sheet 10is provided with side flaps 11 and 12, and end flaps 13 and 14. Allelements, sheet 10 and flaps 1114, are formed from a single sheet sothat the flaps are integral with the sheet 10. The flaps areconveniently formed by notching a large stock sheet at the corners.Preferably the stock sheet is embossed along lines 15, 16, 17, and 18 topermit the flaps 1114 to be folded inwardly toward the face of the sheet10. Flaps 13 and 14 each have a pad secured thereto as best seen in Fig.2. More particularly, pad 20 is secured as by adhesive means to the faceof the flap 13 opposite the bearing face of sheet 10. The edge 21 of pad20 coincides with the edge of flap 13. The ends of pad 20 extend beyondthe ends of flap 13 a distance approximately equal the thickness of thepad. The pad 21 is formed with an extension 22 so that at least aportion thereof is of width greater than flap 13 and thus overlies theboundary formed by the embossed line 16. Preferably the width of thesection 22 is equal the thickness of the pad 20.

In a similar manner, a pad 24 is bonded onto the flap 14. Flaps 11 and12 have pads bonded thereto such as the pads 25 and 26 of Fig. 2. Thepads 25 and 26 are of length corresponding with the length of flaps 11and 12. The outer edges of pads 25 and 26 and flaps 11 and 12 arealigned. Pads 25 and 26 are of width greater than flaps 11 and 12 by anamount preferably equal the thickness of the pads so that they overliethe boundariw formed by the embossed lines 15 and 17 by such amount.

In the end view of the pads shown in Fig. 3, it will be noted that theends 20a and 20b of pad 20 extend beyond the edges of flap 13, and thatthe unit is a fiat unitary member which is readily adaptable to shippingor storage preparatory to use in packaging operations. In Fig. 4 therelationship between pads 25 and 26 and the sheet 10 may readily beseen. Sheet 10 serves as an intermediate member for maintaining pads 25and 26 spaced apart and ready for forming into a package receivingreceptacle.

InFigs. 5 and 6 the unit is illustrated in folded condition as to forman open-faced receptacle into which an article of rectangular polyhedronshape may be placed. Fig. 5 is a top view of such receptacle. In thesectional view of Fig. 6, it will be noted that pads 25 and 2-6 are inplanes perpendicular to the plane of sheet 10 and extend beyond theplane of the sheet 10 in both directions so that pads 25 and 26 in thedirection of arrows 40 and '41. It

will readily be seen that forces developed along lines 42 and 43 will besupported by the pads 25 and 26. Thus in all directions, an articlesupported by the pad is shielded from unwanted forces In Fig. 7, the useof two embodiments of the present invention has been illustrated. Anarticle 50 to be packaged in a containerSl is shown. A pad 53 of thepreferred type, illustratedin Figs. l-6, is shown supporting the leftend of article 50. -In this case the inside dimensions of container 51in all cases exceed the outside dimensions of article 50 by an amountequal to twice the thickness of the pads plus the thickness of the stocksheet 10. In the form illustrated, the pads are formed of a triple layerof corrugated fiber board so that the thickness of eight plys representsthe difference between dimensions of container 51 and article 50. Asshown in Fig. 6, structure is such that the end of article 50, Fig. 7,will be spaced from the adjacent end of container 51. Through the use oftwo such pads, one on each end of an article such as article 50, thearticle may be placed in a container which with flaps folded closed andsecured will withstand substantial abuse without damage to the packagedarticle.

In the second embodiment of pad units shown in Fig. 7, pad unit 55 issimilar in all respects to pad 53 except one end flap and an associatedpad are not included. In this case the upper ends of pad units 56 and 57are flush with the top of article 50. A cover pad such as pad 58 maythen be used to protect the top of article 50. Only a portion of such atop pad 58 is shown in Fig. 7.

Having described the invention in connection with certain specificmodifications, it is to be understood that further modifications may nowsuggest themselves to those skilled in the art and it is intended tocover such modifications as may fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. A shipping pad comprising a flat rectangular corrugated sheet withflaps extending the full length of edges thereof and hingedly dependingfrom such edges, multilayer corrugated pad elements secured to flapshinged to adjacent sides of said sheet, one of said pad elementscorresponding in length with its associated flap and aligned therewithalong the free edge thereof but overlapping a predetermined distance thejuncture between said sheet and said associated flap, the other of saidpad elements being aligned with its associated flap along the free edgethereof and extending beyond each end of its associated flap and beyondthe juncture of said sheet and its associated flap by distances of theorder of the combined thicknesses of said pad element and said sheet.

2. A shipping pad comprising a flat rectangular corrugated sheet withfiaps extending the full length of edges thereof and hingedly dependingfrom such edges, pad elements substantially thicker than the thicknessof said sheet adhesively secured to at least the two flaps hinged to twoadjacent sides of said sheet, the pad element secured to the first ofsaid flaps corresponding in length with said first of said flaps andaligned therewith along the free edge but overlapping the juncturebetween said sheet and said first flap a distance equal the combinedthickness of said pad element and said sheet, the second of said padelements being aligned with the second of said flaps along the free edgethereof and extending beyond each end of the second of said flaps andoverlapping the juncture between said sheet and the second of said flapsdistances equal the combined thickness of said pad element. and saidsheet whereby said first and. second flaps may be folded to form acorner support for a packaged article.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which the second pad elementoverlaps the juncture between the second of said flaps and said sheetfor a distance approximately equal the length of said second flap minustwice the combined thicknesses of said second pad element and saidsheet. p i U V V 4. A shipping pad comprising a flat rectangularcorrugated sheet with flaps extending the full length of and dependingfrom sides or said'sheet, pad units secured to corresponding faces ofthe two of said flaps on two opposite sides of said sheet, said padunits extending the length of said flaps and widerthan said flaps tooverlay the boundaries between said two of said flaps and said sheet, apad unit secured to the same face of a third flap in an end of saidsheet of length greater than the length .of its associated flap byamounts equal twice the thickness of said pad units on said first andsecond flaps and overlaying for at least a portion of the length thereofthe boundary between said third flap and said sheet whereby said flapsmay be folded inwardly to form an article receiving zone.

5. A shipping pad comprising a flat rectangular corrugated sheet withflaps extending the full length of all edges thereof, a first pair ofpad elements substantially thicker than the thickness of said sheet onesecured to each of two opposite flaps and corresponding in lengththerewith but overlapping the junctures between said sheet and said twoflaps, a second pair of pad elements one secured to each of the thirdand fourth of said flaps and extending beyond each end of said third andfourth flaps and overlapping the junctures between said sheet and saidthird and fourth flaps whereby said two flaps and said third and fourthflaps may be folded to form an end support for a packaged article.

6. A shipping pad comprising a flat rectangular corrugated sheet withilaps extending the full length of and depending from sides of saidsheet, pad units secured to corresponding faces of the two of said flapson two opposite sides of said sheet, said pad units extending the lengthof said flaps and wider than said flaps to overlay the boundariesbetween said two of said flaps and said sheet, a pad unit secured to thesame face of a third flap in an end of said sheet of length greater thanthe length of its associated flap by amounts equal twice the thicknessof said pad units on said first and second flaps and overlaying theboundary between said third fiap and said sheet a distance less than thefull length of said boundary by an amount about equal to twice thethickness of one of said pad units whereby said pad may be shaped eitherflat or said flaps may be folded inwardly to form an article receivingzone.

7. A shipping pad comprising a flat rectangular corrugated fiber boardsheet having flaps extending the full length of all the edges thereof, afirst pair of multi-layerecl corrugated fiber board pads of widthgreater than the width of said flaps by an overlay equal the combinedthickness of one of said pads and said sheet and of length equal to thatof the two flaps on opposite edges of said sheet, means for securingsaid pair of pads to said two flaps with said pads extending over theboundaries between said sheet and said two flaps by an amount equal.said overlay, a second pair of multi-layered corrugated fiber boardpads of the same width as said first pair for at least a central portionof the length thereof and each of length greater than the length of thethird and fourth flaps by an amount equal twice said overlay, means forsecuring said second pair of pads to said third and fourth flaps withthe ends thereof extending beyond each end of said third and fourthflaps by amounts equal said overlay and the said central portionsthereof extending over the boundaries between said sheet and said thirdand fourth flaps by amounts equal said overlay.

. 8. The combination set forth in claim 7 in which said pads areadhesively bonded to the entire surface of said flaps and the overlayportions thereof are maintained free.

9. A shipping pad comprising a flat rectangular corrugated sheet withflaps extending the full length of edges thereof and hingedly dependingfrom such edges, multilayer corrugated pad elements secured to flapshinged to adjacent sides of said sheet, one of said pad elementscorresponding in length with its associated flap and aligned therewithalong the free edge thereof but overlapping a predetermined distance thejuncture between said sheet and said associated flap, the other of saidpad elements being aligned with its associated flap along the free edgethereof and extending beyond each end of its associated flap bydistances of the order of the combined thicknesses of said pad elementand said sheet, and beyond the juncture of said sheet and its associatedflap by said predetermined distance.

10. A shipping pad unit comprising a flat rectangular corrugated sheetwith flaps extending the full length of and depending from the sides ofsaid sheet, pad units secured to corresponding faces of two of saidflaps on opposite sides of said sheet, said pad units extending thelength of said flaps and each wider than said flaps by a predeterminedamount to overlap the boundaries between said flaps and said sheet bysaid predetermined amount, a pad unit secured to the same face of athird flap on an end of said sheet and of length at least equal thelength of said third flap and shaped along the edge opposite the freeedge of said third flap to overlap by said predetermined amount theboundary between said sheet and said third flap only for a distance ofthe length of said third flap minus twice said predeterminedamountwhereby a plurality of said pad units may be shipped either flator said flaps may be folded inwardly to form an article receiving zone.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,534,011 Frye -Dec. 12, 1950 2,623,682 Candell Dec. 30, 1952 FOREIGNPATENTS 107,817 Sweden June 29, 1943

